Damper-regulator.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

A. CARMIGHAEL.

DAMPER REGULATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED Dsc. 21, 1901.

E0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrin-E.

ALEXANDER CARMICHAEL, OF WESTERLY, RHODE ISLANDi DAM PER-REGL: LAToR.

srEoIrIoATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,810, dated January o, 1903. Application filed December 2l, lillll. Serial No. 86,726. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER Cnnrucn- AEL, a citizen of the United States, residing' at `Westerly, in the county of Washington, in

the State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement ink Damper-Reguiators, of which the following is a specification.

The invention is an improvement ony the damper-regulator set forthV in the patent toV .lohn E. Spencer, datedSeptember 29, 1885, No. 327,337. I have encountered difiiculties in the use of the Spencer regulator as heretofore made which this invention is intended to obviate.

In View of the full description of the Spen-4 this specification and represent what I conf Sider the best means of carrying out the invention. f

Figure lis a general side elevation showing the entire apparatus. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through a portion on a larger scale. It shows a good form of the invention. Fig. 3 is a corresponding section through a smaller portion ou a still larger scale. Fig. 4; is on the same scale as Fig. 3 and is a section showing one of the parts detached, with a modification. Fig. 5 is a section of a portion corresponding to Fig. 2, varying therefrom and showing what I esteem the most complete form.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they appear.

The Spencer regulator is of the class in which a small double piston-valve is moved axially with each change of pressure of steam in the boiler, and being perfectly balancedhas only the slight resistance of friction to oppose its motion. The movement of the damper is effected through strong connections from a relatively large piston inclosed in a corresponding fixed cylinder and subject to pressure of water from an elevated tank or other source of supply furnishing Water at l the passage.

moved valve is connected by levers to a dia-l phragm and so iniiuenced by the pressure of the steam that it will rise with each increase of pressure and sink with each decrease below the required standard however nearly shut or widely open the piston may previously stand. There is a hollow piston-rod4 from each face of the piston, one lextending upward and another extending downward, each through a stuffing-box. (Not shown.) The lower hollow rod serves to discharge the water after it has strongly moved the piston and also to communicate the force to operate the damper and to perform an almost equally important function in resistingany irregular movement which a large damper, perhaps imperfectly balanced and subject to the strong {iow of the gases in the flue, may attempt to make.

The large piston B is packed on each face with a cup-packing C, covered by a plate D, which-is pressed upon the packing by a nut E, the continuation of the passage bthrough the cup-packing and through the plate being :provided by a hole in each in the required position. The upper and lower faces of the piston being alike,a description of the upper alone will suflice for both.

The hole c in the packing C and the hole d, in the plate D must coincide with each other and with the passage in the piston. There has always been. a liability of the holes to get out of coincidence with each other and with If with the parts nicely` arranged a wrench was appliedl to further tighten the nut E, the friction of the nut was liable to turn the plate D and sometimes also the cup-packing C,which is, as usual, of yielding material, as leather or soft rubber. Furthermore,l if a strong compressive force was exerted through the plate D there was a liability of the yielding material of the cuppacking to gush inward, so as to partially or'.

Either of these' of position, and the interior of the tube being of-sufficient diameter the construction permits the free motion of the water upward and downward as required under all conditions. I provide a corresponding shallow hole at another point in the piston, which may be of the same size as thev passage b or preferably somewhat smaller. N is a pin tapped therein. There are corresponding holes made in the packing C and in the plate D, allowing this pin, like the tube M, to extend out nearly but not quite to the outer face of the plate. This pin further aids to hold the parts against turning.

The hollow piston-rod B', extending upward, carries on a separately-formed boss G, rigidly set thereon, the movable arm G', on which thelightleverHis fulcrumed. Through the center of this hollow piston-rod B' extends a rod I, which connects the controllingvalve J to the said lever H. With any ordinary Water the correct action of the regulator necessitates afrequent removal and cleansing of the small double piston-valve .I and of the interior of the bore b, in which it Works. As heretofore constructed such cleaning of the valve and adjacent surfaces involved a dismantling of the machine to the extent of removing the thimble F, which latter serves the important duties of firmly locking the boss G and also of sufiiciently closing the annular space in the top of the hollow piston-rod B around the rod I to exclude dust and other solid materials. Such removal necessarily liberated the arm G. My improvement avoids the necessity for removing or in any wise disturbing those parts.

I make the valve J and the axial bore b, in which it plays iu the piston B, considerably smaller than the interior of the hollow piston-rod B', and I make so large a hole in the center of the thimble F as to allow the valve to be inserted and removed through such hole. There is sufficient metal in the thimble to enable it to perform one function of being strongly screwed down to secure the arm G. I enable the thimble to perform its other function of sufiiciently closing the top of the hollow piston-rod by either making the valve-rod large, so as to practically fill the large hole in the thimble of itself, as shown in Fig. 2, or, as I consider preferable, I keep the valve-rod small and it thereon a loose sleeve I' of the proper size, as shown in Fig. 5. In the latter case I make the large hole in the thimble tapering and the sleeve correspondingly tapering, as shown. The device thus equipped serves in all respects in the same manner as with the thick rod, except that the sleeve does not move with the frefluently-recurring movements of the rod. On the contrary, the rod moves through the loose-fitting hole in the center of the sleeve, which latter is relatively stationary. The device serves, as with the Spencer construction, until it is desired to remove the valve. Then the valve-rod being liberated from the lever H the valve is simply lifted by the rod, and when raised to a certain extent it lifts the sleeve, and the Valve and rod and sleeve are removed together. The reverse movement replaces these parts. In short, I have discovered that by keeping the valve .I of small diameter and making the rod I substantially of large diameter and making a correspondingly large hole in the thimble F, I am able to remove the valve by simply drawing the large rod and the attached valve directly upward and to replace it after the cleaning has been effected by a reverse movement. In preparation for eecting this with perfect freedom it is only necessary to pull out the pins J' and G2, connecting this rod to the lever H and to the fulcrum G, and to lift the lever I-I out of the way. The thimble F, having its large hole, performs the same function as before of serving as means for strongly and rigidly connecting the arm G to the hollow piston-rod B and also of making a fairly dust-tight fit around the piston-rod.

Modifications may be made without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention. The tube M may be tapped into the hole b; but I have in my experiments found it sufficient to simply match the sizes very nicely and drive the tube to the proper depth into the hole by percussion. The tube will perform the function of defending the hole against the displacement or deformation of the packing alone by being of less length, only sufficient to extend through or nearly through the packing.

Instead of tapping or driving the pin N in the piston and providing a loose-fitting hole in the plate D to receive it I can tap or otherwise rmly set the pin into the plate D and 'allow it to extend through the packing in the opposite direction and engage loosely in a hole in the piston, as indicated in Fig. 4. This pin, set in either way, may serve alone without the tube M; but in such case the important function of protecting the other hole c against being closed by the intrusion of the yielding packing into the space, which should be kept clear, will be sacrificed. On the other hand,the tube M may serve alone if allowed to extend sufficiently to take a reliable hold of the plate, and the pinN may be dispensed with.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a damper-regulator, the combination of a cylinder, a piston provided with a longitudinal passage and with two passages leading from separate points in said longitudinal passage to the respective ends of the piston, a hollow piston-rod, a valve operated by an inclosed rod for governing saidpassages, cuppackings of yielding material for the ends of the piston, and plates for securing such packings in position, and a short tube extending through each packing stiftly set in one of the parts and engaged loosely in the other so as to apply the rigidity of its mounting to perform the double function of preventing any IOO IIO

relative turning motions and keeping open the passage through the soft packing, all substantially as herein specified.

2. In a damper-regulator having a cylinder and a piston with a hollow piston-rod, and a rigidly-attached arm Gr G carrying a lever H, an internal valve operated through such piston-rod, and a liberally-apertured thimble F on such rod serving both for securing the parts and to close the space around the valverod, in combination with a piston-valve of small diameter serving to control the larger piston, adapted to be inserted and removed through such thimble, all substantially as herein specified.

3. In a damper-regulator having a cylinder and a piston with a hollow piston-rod, and a rigidly-attached arm G G' carrying a lever H- an internal valve operated through such rod,

an d a liberally-apertured thmble on such rod vabove set forth I aiiix'my signature in presence of two witnesses. y

y ALEXANDER OARMICHAEL. Witnesses:

0. H. TEFFT, EUGENE B. PENDLETON. 

